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- Volume 4, Issue 1, 2018
Metal Music Studies - Volume 4, Issue 1, 2018
Volume 4, Issue 1, 2018
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The aesthetic-sonic shift of melodic death metal
More LessAbstractThis article examines the shift in aesthetics and sound that occurred during the development of what came to be called melodic death metal, a sub-genre of metal that developed in the 1990s in Gothenburg, Sweden. I consider the musical aesthetics such as instrumentation, production style and timbre alongside extra-musical aesthetics such as lyrics, cover art and band logos. Thus, I demonstrate how melodic death metal develops its aesthetics and sound in order to differentiate itself from its main influences of Swedish death metal and the New Wave of European Heavy Metal. This article aims to contribute to a growing body of works that is focused on analysing the music at the core of popular music, in particular metal, and develop methods of analysis that deal with musical aesthetics on an equal ground with extra-musical aesthetics. Furthermore, this article aims to discuss in detail specific features of melodic death metal and establish a basis for further examination of the developments of the genre.
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Tech noir: Aesthetic connections between Burroughs’ Naked Lunch and contemporary extreme metal
More LessAbstractWilliam S. Burroughs remains a shadowy presence in the history of metal music. But the connections that have been forged between the author and metal generally relate to the influence he has had upon the lexicon and themes of the genre. This article moves away from the issue of influence and argues that Burroughs’ radical literary style is analogous to contemporary extreme metal genres such as mathcore, which blend metal and punk. Both mathcore and Burroughs’ Naked Lunch employ structural unpredictability and rapid shifts in pace. But rather than simply disrupting the social order, these startling aesthetic strategies can be understood as representations of the contemporary world, which can encourage audiences to adapt to and retain agency within the chaos of postmodernity. The first steps are also taken in this article to assemble a genealogy of works that produce such empowering effects.
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‘If you got a tape on, you’re committed’: The revival of cassette tapes in Toronto’s New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal scene
More LessAbstractAt the height of music digitization and dematerialization, we still find collectivities of people who use obsolete forms of music media not out of necessity, but as a conscious and meaningful choice. This article focuses on a case study of a surprising revival of cassette tapes in the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal (NWOTHM) scene in Toronto, Canada. I consider two broad questions. First, if the music of the bands in the scene can be easily downloaded or ripped off of a CD, and conveniently stored on computers and other devices, what is the appeal of cassette tapes for their consumers? And second, what new meanings have been ascribed to cassette tapes in the Toronto NWOTHM scene – has the main function of cassettes as a music storage medium changed entirely? In this article, I (1) propose that Toronto NWOTHM scene members have rekindled an attraction to physical media formats to close the tangibility gap between music and listener; (2) suggest that subjective media associations between various time periods and/or music genres foster the historically informed consumption of cassettes; (3) demonstrate these two points in the traditional heavy metal subculture in Toronto and (4) outline new meanings that cassettes have undertaken in this context, such as souvenir, materialization of subcultural capital and symbol of commitment.
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Throat singing as extreme Other: An exploration of Mongolian and Central Asian style in extreme metal
More LessAbstractThroat singing is a form of singing practised in a number of cultures, but it is not part of the premodern folk cultures of Western Europe that shaped contemporary Western popular culture. In contemporary Western music, throat singing from Central Asia is used or sampled in global fusion and dance music as an example of the mystical, timeless orient. In world music, another Western form of music, artists from China, Mongolia and Tuva who incorporate throat singing and roots music forms have become popular acts at festivals and the touring circuit. Throat singing has also been used by extreme metal bands from Asia to signify their authenticity and their connection to this traditional culture. In this article, I explore how throat singing is used by performers and consumers to construct belonging, authenticity, identity and extremity. I focus in particular on how throat singing and traditional cultural tropes are used by the Chinese folk metal band Tengger Cavalry, and Darkestrah, a black metal band from Kyrgyzstan.
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Decay as a black metal symbol
By Kevin HoffinAbstractThis article intends to dissect black metal’s interestingly twisted relationship with decay. A deep study encompassing symbols of atrophy, with the eventual intention of observing and analysing them through a kaleidoscope of philosophical thought, influenced by, amongst others, the musings of Bataille, Kant and Nietzsche. Issues appearing in both the real and the metaphorical will be placed under inspection, and a suitably blackened light will be shone towards the extent of how black metal exists and thrives in the organic collapse of matter and sound. There will be discussions on how black metal has itself become attuned to decay and how the two processes feed off each other, exist in harmonic conjunction and on rare occasions, oppose the other’s being. How black metal has metastasized with atrophy. Here we shall see two forces inexplicably intertwined, the numerous links given exposure and attempted understanding in the realm of black metal theory.
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Heaviness and the electric guitar: Considering the interaction between distortion and harmonic structures
More LessAbstractIn metal music studies, ‘heaviness’ has been acknowledged as an essential element of the genre. Commonly associated with the distorted guitar, most work on heaviness has concentrated on the instrument’s sound. If respective research considered structural aspects of the guitar riff, it did so with a special focus on tempo, rhythm, tonality and form. This article analyses the interaction between distortion and harmonic structures on the electric guitar. Operationalizing heaviness with a psychoacoustic model of sensory consonance, an acoustic experiment explores how guitar distortion affects acoustic features of harmonic structures. Since acoustic studies are limited in predicting perception, a listening test investigates distortion’s influence on listener perception. The findings indicate that both increasing distortion level and harmonic complexity reduce sensory consonance, especially when acting together. Acoustically, distortion has a slightly stronger effect than structure; perceptually, the ratio is dependent on person-specific characteristics. Metalheads seem to be only marginally affected by sensory dissonance.
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‘Doing–listening’ with Deranged’s Struck by a Murderous Siege: An auto-ethnography of death metal vinyl consumption
More LessAbstractThis article deals with vinyl records from the perspective of the cultural study of everyday life. It focuses on the author’s rituals of vinyl consumption, using as a case study Deranged’s Struck by a Murderous Siege (2016). It is shown that in an era of media convergence listening to vinyl records is an activity in which a variety of media participate in ‘doing–listening’, a process that involves the invocation of a unique secret knowledge developed over social relationships with people and things, and memories of past experiences, through which the intertextual nature of death metal texts is revealed and the doer–listener produces his or her own culture. In that sense, the value of vinyl records cannot be estimated in advance, based on ‘objective’ attributes – such as size of artwork, distinctiveness of sound, aura attribution or feelings of technostalgia – but, instead, accrues through the process of co-production through doing–listening with texts.
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From the ‘Patio’ to the ‘Agency’: The emergence and structuring of metal music in revolutionary Cuba
Authors: Nelson Varas-Díaz, Osvaldo González-Sepúlveda and Andrés Rivera AmadorAbstractRock and metal music have a long and problematic history in Cuba. Considered counter-revolutionary during the 1960s, rock would raise eyebrows in Cuba. Later during the 1980s, metal music would be even more concerning for the local government. Both would be considered an affront to the revolutionary ‘New Man’. Still, the Island has the strongest metal scene in the Caribbean. How could this happen? This article aims to familiarize readers with how Cuba’s metal went from being an organic community-based endeavour to a State-sponsored entity and to discuss some of its potential tensions. In order to achieve this aim, we report data from our ethnographic observation and ten in-depth qualitative interviews with fans, musicians, scholars and culture-related government officials. We discuss the emergence of ‘María’s Patio’ as an organic metal community and highlight its role in Cuba. Furthermore, we discuss how this process led to the emergence of the State-sponsored Cuban Rock Agency and its potential tensions moving forward.
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Perspectiva indigenista en la música metal de Argentina
More LessResumenEl indigenismo fue una corriente literaria que se originó en la década de 1920 en Perú y que se desarrolló en varios países andinos, incluso en la Argentina. Aquí la literatura indigenista fue una reacción a los ideales hegemónicos de civilización y barbarie con los cuales se asesinó y sometió a los pueblos originarios. A partir de la década de 1980, gran cantidad de bandas de música metal argentina adoptan esa misma postura. Este artículo tiene como objetivo examinar la forma en que la música metal de Argentina usa una lógica dualista para defender al referente aborigen y condenar al extranjero, utilizando retóricas propias del metal, externas al mundo indígena y provenientes del contexto de la globalización y el capitalismo. Esta reflexión se basa en el análisis sociosemiótico de las producciones de algunas bandas.
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Indigenista perspectives in Argentine metal music
More LessAbstractIndigenismo was a literary trend that originated in 1920s Peru and that further developed in many Andean countries, including Argentina. In Argentina, indigenista literature represented a reaction to the hegemonic ideals of civilization-versus-barbarism, which were deployed to justify the murdering and subjugation of indigenous peoples. Starting in the 1980s, many metal bands in Argentina adopt the same approach. This article will examine the way in which metal music in Argentina uses a twofold logic that simultaneously defends all aboriginal traits while condemning all foreign influences, all of this as bands use rhetorical devices that originate in metal music, devices external to the indigenous world and originating from a context of globalization and capitalism. This meditation is based on a socio-semiotic analysis of the output of a handful of bands.
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Morbo ancestral: Reformulando la cultural local a través de la música metal en Puerto Rico
Authors: Eliut Rivera-Segarra, Nelson Varas-Díaz, Sigrid Mendoza and Xaymara DíazResumenLa integración de la cultura local al metal hecho en Puerto Rico ha ganado interés y atención en las pasadas décadas. Durante la década de los 90 el metal, aún visto como una entidad foránea y estadounidense, integraba la cultura puertorriqueña a su música de forma celebratoria. Esto ha cambiado recientemente y hoy se experimenta una integración temática a través de líricas y arte visual que se distancian de dichas estrategias celebratorias y asumen una perspectiva más crítica sobre la cultura local. El objetivo de este trabajo fue documentar cómo la comunidad metalera de Puerto Rico ha integrado la cultura local al metal de modo crítico mediante una reformulación de los elementos locales. Implementamos un estudio de caso con técnicas de entrevista y análisis de documentos visuales. Aunque usualmente las producciones culturales son recibidas irreflexivamente y de manera celebratoria, recientemente el metal produce música y arte con elementos culturales que critican dicho acercamiento y destacan críticamente el modo en que las producciones culturales también aluden a la morbosidad y a lo oscuro. Examinamos dicha caracterización a través de la figura del vejigante usada en festivales culturales y en las artes plásticas en Puerto Rico. Discutimos el modo en que el metal utiliza la producción cultural como reflejo de un lado oscuro de lo social en Puerto Rico; un tema del cual la mayor parte de la población preferiría no hablar.
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Ancestral morbid fascinations: Reformulating local culture through metal music in Puerto Rico
Authors: Eliut Rivera-Segarra, Nelson Varas-Díaz, Sigrid Mendoza and Xaymara DíazAbstractThere has been an increased interest in and attention to the integration of local culture into the metal music, including metal being produced in Puerto Rico. During the 1990s, the metal genre, a musical style still perceived as a foreign (read: US) entity, incorporated Puerto Rican culture to its musical output in a celebratory manner. This tendency has changed, however, and today the scene is experiencing a thematic consolidation through lyrics and imagery that moves away from the celebratory strategies, opting instead for a more critical perspective regarding local culture. This article documents how the metal community in Puerto Rico has brought together metal music and local culture in a critical manner by emphasizing the reformulation of local elements. We undertook a case study that includes tools such as interviews and the analysis of visual documents. While cultural productions have usually been received by local audiences in an irreflexive and celebratory manner, more recently, the genre has produced music and art that use cultural elements to question this traditional manner of reception, highlighting through a critical gaze the way in which cultural productions have also alluded to morbid and grim fascinations. This examination will focus on the vejigante, a figure greatly depicted throughout cultural celebrations and in the arts in Puerto Rico. We discuss the way in which metal music employs its cultural production as a reflection of the dark side of Puerto Rican society, a topic which the majority of the population would rather leave untouched.
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‘Severed Reality’: Representations of reality in Salvadoran tribal metal
More LessAbstractAs a musical discourse, heavy metal often asserts its own view of reality that is antagonistic to the ‘popular’ world-view of society. This dominant framework that is at work in the world, at large, is the Modern/Western framework of reality, which is highly dependent on the discourses of Christianity, capitalism and democracy and which has mainly been spread through imperialism. What has allowed this framed reality to succeed at such a large scale is what William Egginton calls ‘theatricality’, the foundation of our modern understanding of the world. However, no matter how strong the dominant frame may be, separate frames always exist simultaneous and exterior to it. By applying Heidegger’s understanding of the ‘world as picture’, I can demonstrate that heavy metal music not only creates a separate frame with which its listeners and producers experience reality but also how this particular frame, which relies on theatrics and the macabre, tries to intentionally crack or shatter the dominant frame. This process is manifested clearly in the Salvadoran heavy metal community and in Salvadoran ‘tribal metal’. In this setting, Western ideologies have systematically been pushed onto a community that continues to resist them and to create their own meaningful reality. As a part of this study, I have engaged in ethnographic observation and carried out 30 in-depth qualitative interviews during a three-year period. Results evidence how the local heavy metal community exists within Salvadoran society while simultaneously being antagonistic to most of its values and attempting to ‘rewrite’ the popular framework with which Salvadoran ‘reality’ is generally articulated. This is done through an invocation of its own indigenous past in the tribal metal genre.
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Media representations of metal music in the Dominican Republic: Between oppression and social resistance
Authors: Sigrid Mendoza, Nelson Varas-Díaz, Eliut Rivera-Segarra and Carlos VélezAbstractMetal music is a global phenomenon, and research addressing its development throughout the world should focus on the local and regional factors that help shape it. The Dominican Republic saw the emergence of a local metal scene in the early 1980s. Unlike other scenes in the Caribbean region, the local media outlets (i.e. newspapers, tv shows, radio shows) have played a crucial role in its development. This article aims to examine the role that media has played in the development and hindrance of the local scene and its interrelation to shifts in the racial/class composition of its members. We carried out ethnographic observations and in-depth qualitative interviews (n=10) with local fans and musicians. All data were analysed and categorized using NVIVO software. In this short article, we discuss how the media played a dual role in the development of the local metal scene. Initially, media representations of metal music contributed to hinder and stigmatize local metal fans. Later, those same media outlets were used by metal fans to counteract stigmatizing representations of metal and expand the scene. Such was the case of the Avanzada Metallica, a local radio show that organized local concerts and informed the metal scene for 20 years. We will discuss how it became a platform to promote local metal bands in the Dominican Republic and Latin America through its organized activities, while simultaneously expanding the scene in terms of its racial and social class composition.
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Representaciones musicales en tiempos de violencia: Orígenes del metal peruano durante la crisis general de los años ochenta
Authors: María de la Luz Núñez and Arturo RivasResumenEl presente artículo se pregunta por las motivaciones que llevaron a jóvenes peruanos a expresarse a través del metal en los años 80, apartándose de otros géneros musicales que ya habían sido desarrollados, tales como el hardcore, el punk y el rock subterráneo. En ese sentido, proponemos que sus motivaciones, lejos de tratarse de una simple copia de bandas extranjeras, deben más bien enmarcarse en el contexto de la crisis política, social y económica que tuvo lugar en esa década; situación que recrudeció por el conflicto armado interno entre agentes del Estado y agrupaciones terroristas. Para fundamentar nuestra postura, recurriremos a la metodología genealógica nietzscheana y a algunos conceptos fenomenológicos de Husserl y Scheler, entendiendo al metal como una ‘reacción emocional de respuesta’ frente a los valores preferidos por la sociedad, en relación con la vivencia de la crisis, y a través de distintas capas de conciencia (afectiva, volitiva, cognoscitiva) y modos de conciencia (perceptivo-natural y representacional-estético). Nuestra aproximación es complementada con testimonios de músicos que fueron parte del origen de la escena metal en el Perú.
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Musical representation in times of violence: The origins of Peruvian metal music during the general crisis of the eighties
Authors: María de la Luz Núñez and Arturo RivasAbstractThis article addresses the motivations that led young Peruvians to express themselves through metal in the 1980s, moving away from other musical genres that had already been developed, such as hardcore, punk and underground rock. In this sense, we propose that their motivations, far from being a mere copy of foreign bands, should rather be framed in the context of the political, social and economic crisis that took place in that decade, a situation that was exacerbated by the internal armed conflict between State agents and terrorist groups. To ground our position, we will resort to the Nietzschean genealogical methodology and phenomenological concepts from Husserl and Scheler, understanding metal as an ‘emotional response reaction’ to the values preferred by society, in relation to the experience of the crisis and through different layers of consciousness (affective, volitional, cognitive) and modes of consciousness (perceptive-natural and representational-aesthetic). Our approach is complemented by testimonies of musicians who were part of the origin of the metal scene in Peru.
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Cartas, fitas cassete e fanzines: A circulação do metal no Brasil como modelo da dádiva
More LessResumoO artigo aborda as trocas culturais no contexto da cena do metal brasileiro e as relações sociais construídas em torno das materialidades do gênero musical, como cartas, fitas cassete e fanzines. O argumento central é de que estas trocas de itens entre fãs de metal contribuíram para a globalização do gênero musical e tiveram continuidade dos anos 1990 aos 2000, em territórios periféricos, como o Brasil, mesmo com a chegada da Internet. Abordamos esta questão a partir de uma pesquisa online com fãs de metal sobre o papel das trocas de cartas e fitas cassete, mediadas pelos fanzines, para acesso aos produtos culturais. O questionário foi disponibilizado nos grupos dedicados ao metal brasileiro e colecionadores de fitas cassete e fanzines nas redes sociais. A circulação do metal no Brasil será compreendida a partir do paradigma da dádiva, proposto por Marcel Mauss e por suas releituras. Desta forma, ressaltamos a construção de identidades e de laços sociais oferecida pelo intercâmbio cultural.
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Letters, cassette tapes and zines: The circulation of Brazilian heavy metal as a gift system
More LessAbstractThe article addresses cultural exchanges in the Brazilian metal scene and the social practices around materialities such as letters, cassette tapes and fanzines. The exchange of items between headbangers contributed to the globalization of metal and continued over the 1990s and 2000s, in peripheral territories, like Brazil, even with the presence of the Internet. The article is based on a questionnaire administered via social network groups dedicated to Brazilian metal and collectors of cassette tapes and fanzines. The circulation of metal in Brazil is explained from the paradigm of the gift, proposed by Marcel Mauss and others. Our purpose is to highlight the construction of identities and social bonds offered by this cultural exchange.
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